Stand! is the fourth studio album by soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, written and produced by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone and released on May 3, 1969 on Epic Records, just before the group's celebrated performance at the Woodstock festival. Stand! was the band's most commercially-successful album to date,[1] with over 500,000 copies sold in the year of its release: it was certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 4, 1969, went on to sell over three million copies and became one of the most successful albums of the 1960s.[11] By 1986 it had sold well over 1 million copies and was certified platinum in sales by the RIAA on November 26 of that same year.[12]

Much of the album was recorded in San Francisco area at Pacific High Recording Studios. The band’s A&R director and photographer Stephen Paley recalled how "together" Sly Stone was while working on Stand!, constantly referring to Walter Piston's Orchestration text-book,[15] unlike his erratic behavior and work after he became dependent upon cocaine within a year of the album's success.[16]

Stand! begins with the title track on which Sly sings lead on "Stand", a mid-tempo number launching into a gospel break for its final forty-nine seconds.[15] Most of the Family Stone was unavailable for the session at which this coda was recorded: Sly, drummer Gregg Errico and horn players Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini were augmented by session players instead. Errico recalls that many liked the gospel extension more than they did the song proper, and that; "People would always ask, 'why didn't you go there and let that be the song?'"[15] The second track, titled "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey", has few lyrics save for the chorus Don't call me "nigger", whitey./Don't call me "whitey", nigger and a single verse sung by Rose Stone. On "I Want to Take You Higher" Freddie Stone, Larry Graham, Rose Stone, and Sly Stone take turns delivering the lead vocal and all seven band-members deliver the shouted backing vocals. Sly Stone, Robinson, Freddie Stone, Graham, and Martini all play instrumental solos.

"Everyday People", already a number-one hit single in the United States by the time of the album's release, opens Side B. The most familiar selection on the album, "Everyday People" popularized the expression "different strokes for different folks".[19] Sly Stone, Rose Stone and Cynthia Robinson sing lead and Larry Graham introduces the slap-pop style of bass he expanded on "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)". "Sex Machine" is a thirteen-minute jam that features Sly scatting through a vocoder and allows each band member a solo. Gregg Errico's drum solo closes the song and the band members are heard bursting into laughter during the final seconds. Stand! concludes with "You Can Make It If You Try", sung by Sly Stone, Freddie Stone, and Larry Graham. Sly Stone instead of Larry Graham played the bass.[15]

Stand! is among the most sampled recordings: late 20th century hip hop producers were particularly fond of sampling Gregg Errico's drums from "Sing a Simple Song" and "You Can Make It If You Try", either looping them or chopping them up and using the drum sounds, they appear on hundreds of hip-hop and contemporary R&B songs by artists such as LL Cool J, The Jungle Brothers, Digital Underground, Ice Cube, TLC, Jodeci, and many more.[20]Arrested Development, an act influenced by Sly & the Family Stone, borrowed tracks on Stand! for various tracks on their 1992 debut album 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of..., most prominently the vocal samples from the end of "Sing a Simple Song" included in "Mr. Wendel", the chorus from "Everyday People" on "People Everyday" and the gospel ending of "Stand" reflected in the coda of "Fishin' For Religion".[20]